The structure of pathological narcissism and its relationships with adult attachment styles: A study of italian nonclinical and clinical adult participants

Andrea Fossati; Judith Feeney; Aaron Pincus; Serena Borroni; Cesare Maffei

doi:10.1037/a0037175

The structure of pathological narcissism and its relationships with adult attachment styles: A study of italian nonclinical and clinical adult participants

Andrea Fossati, Judith Feeney, Aaron Pincus, Serena Borroni, Cesare Maffei

Psychology

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53 Scopus citations

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the structure of pathological narcissism and its relationships with adult attachment styles in 394 Italian nonclinical volunteers and in 103 consecutively admitted Italian outpatients. All participants were administered the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI) and the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ). Confirmatory factor analyses replicated the 2-factor model of the PNI found in English-speaking samples in both nonclinical and clinical samples. Structural equation models showed that adult attachment insecurities were characteristically associated with the PNI Narcissistic Vulnerability scale, whereas the PNI Narcissistic Grandiosity scale was positively associated with the ASQ Confidence scale in both samples. Overall, our findings support the hypothesis that pathological narcissists are both vulnerable and grandiose and suggest that assessing adult attachment may be important in understanding pathological narcissism in adults.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	403-431
Number of pages	29
Journal	Psychoanalytic Psychology
Volume	32
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037175
State	Published - Jul 1 2015

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Clinical Psychology

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10.1037/a0037175

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The structure of pathological narcissism and its relationships with adult attachment styles: A study of italian nonclinical and clinical adult participants

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